UFC Fight Night 33 Date: December 7, 2013 (in Australia), December 6 (in North America) Arena: Brisbane Entertainment Centre City: Brisbane, Queensland, Australia Middleweight bout: Dylan “The Villain” Andrews (-145) vs Clint Hester (+125) Fight Breakdown: The main card for UFC Fight Night 33 on FOX Sports 1 features a middleweight match-up between two contestants from season 17 of The Ultimate Fighter, as Dylan “The Villain” Andrews takes on Clint Hester. Andrews is currently the favorite in this bout at -145 ($145 to win $100), with Hester being the underdog at +125 ($100 to win $125) at Several Bookmakerss. DYLAN “THE VILLAIN” ANDREWS (17-4 MMA, 2-0 UFC) returns to the Octagon, following a knockout win over Papy Abedi at UFC Fight Night 27 earlier this year. The knockout came in the third round when Abedi had completely gassed himself, after dominating Andrews for the first two rounds of action. I was not at all impressed with his performance in that bout, even if he was fighting while injured, which is what he said post-fight. Speaking of unimpressive knockouts, I was not at all impressed with his TKO win over Jimmy Quinlan at The Ultimate Fighter 17 finale, either. It was a dominant victory, but it was not impressive, because it was less about him winning the fight, and more about Quinlan wanting out. He did not want to be in that cage, before even stepping foot inside it. He badly wanted out, and he found his way quickly. The UFC cut him immediately after that horrendous performance, and rightfully so. Andrews is a very tough fighter who is full of heart and has absolutely zero quit in him. He is skilled all around, but not great in any specific area of mixed martial arts. CLINT HESTER (8-3 MMA, 1-0 UFC) returns for his second UFC appearance on the heel of a four-fight win streak, his latest coming inside the Octagon against fellow The Ultimate Fighter season 17 castmate Bristol Marunde. It was a close fight heading into the third round, where Hester dropped Marunde to the canvas with a beautiful elbow, possibly the only quality strike of the entire match-up. Hester has decent boxing skills, but his MMA striking is not technically sound. In fact, Andrews outclasses him, as far as technical striking is concerned. However, Hester does possess great power behind his hands, and the rest of his limbs, as displayed in his last outing. He loves to do damage, whether he’s using his fists, elbows, or knees. They are all weapons he likes to use inside the cage, and every time he connects, his opponents really feel it. Hester’s ground game is not very good at all. He does not have much to offer when put on his back, and his submission defense is atrocious. His takedown defense is okay, but he can’t defend them against talented wrestlers. However, in this match-up, he does not have to worry about the ground, as Andrews will likely look to keep it on the feet. Hester will go into this bout with advantages in both power and cardio. Fight Prediction: I expect this to be a close, back-and-forth brawl where Andrews lands some solid shots using his technically superior striking, but Hester ultimately lands the more damaging blows of the fight, and secures the rounds on the scorecards of everybody watching at home. Gabe’s Pick: Dylan Andrews by controversial Split-Decision (28-29, 29-28, 29-28) Gabe’s Recommended Play: Andrews/Hester Over 2.5 rounds (+130) 3u to win 3.9
